Brussels’s Finest Remix Jay-Z

Hip-hop dominates global taste: rapping, massive beats and the blinged-out lifestyle are staples of youth culture from Baltimore to Brighton. Brussels – the backdrop to this blog – is no exception, which is why three of Belgian rap’s biggest names have immortalized the city of frites, eurocrats and the Mannekin Pis in a reworking of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’s “Empire State Of Mind.”

13Hor (pronounced trésor, or treasure in French), Daddy-K and Aziza’s “Empire State of Brussels” has very different reference points to the Brussels of your average eurocrat. Instead of Place Châtelain market on a Wednesday and Place Lux on a Thursday, they give shout outs to the predominantly Congolese quarter of Matongé, fast-food joint Hector Chicken and summer in Tour and Taxis, a former warehouse and industrial site by the canal which now plays host to music festivals. It’s a great evocation of another side of this diverse, under-rated city.

Moreover, it’s in French. The language of Molière has long been celebrated for song – think fellow Belgian Jacques Brel – but also lends itself to hip-hop, whether the 50-cent-esque sexualized materialism of NTM and Lord Kossity’s “Ma Benz” or the political, polemical power of Diam’s “Ma France a Moi.”

Hip-hop also has a strong sense of place, which is why “Empire State of Brussels” works so well – with “bling bling as large as the Atomium” conjures up and image which is intrinsically Belgian while innately hip-hop. Much has been made of the country’s lack of a national identity since the political deadlock has left it without a new federal government for over a year – perhaps some Bruxellois beats can fill the gap?

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.